


Alley

by GreatestDog



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Angst, Connieverse can be platonic or romantic, F/M, Gen, Sad, Violence, your choice
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-05
Updated: 2016-12-05
Packaged: 2018-09-06 16:13:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 580
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8760076
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GreatestDog/pseuds/GreatestDog
Summary: "I know what it's like. Sometimes, you hurt people by accident. Y-you just have to try not to think about it."Greg, Steven and Connie go on a slightly less expensive visit to Empire City. Things will never be the same.





	

**Author's Note:**

> If it's not an accident... 
> 
> And it's not on purpose... 
> 
> What is it?

_"Steven!"_

He heard Connie's yell just as he was leaving the souvenir shop. It was a small place, in one of the less grand parts of Empire City.

He glanced around in confusion, Connie's small pink handbag swinging on his shoulder. She'd left it in the shop, and he'd offered to run back in and grab it. 

 _I thought she said she'd wait here for me_.

"Steven, HELP!" her voice cried again. 

His eyes widened as he spotted a dark alley across the street. He sprinted across the pavement, not bothering to check for traffic. The streets were empty here, unlike the nicer parts of the city.

He reached the alley and froze.

Two men had hold of Connie. One of them held a blade to her throat. The other faced Steven with a wicked grin, the top half of his face hidden by the shadow of his hood.

"Wha-" Steven stumbled backwards, panicked. "Connie? I-"

The man with the hoodie held out his hand. "I want all the money that's in the bag, kid."

Steven's breath caught.

 _But we just spent the last of it_.

Instantly his mind was set ablaze with worry. Fears, ideas, pleas and desperate bargains raced through his head, but only one thought stuck.

_If I don't have the money, he'll hurt Connie._

Connie twisted in the her captor's grasp. "Steven, run!" she shouted. "Don't worry about me!"

Steven shook his head. His vision suddenly closed in as his thoughts swam. Dimly, he was aware of the man asking for the money again. But mostly, he was aware of the fear.

The fear that Connie wasn't going to walk away from this. That this small, dumb little trip to Empire City would be the last trip they'd ever take together. 

That he was about to lose the best friend he'd ever had. 

And it'd be all because he left her alone.

And then he stepped forward.

Steven had always been stronger than the other kids. His dad had said that was one of the reasons he hadn't gone to elementary school. He'd was been afraid that Steven might accidentally hurt somebody, or break something. And Steven knew he was strong, sure. But to him, his strength was ordinary. He'd never known life without it.  He never compared himself to anybody else. Never thought hard about how different he was from an ordinary human. He didn't realize how fragile and weak most humans really were. 

Which was why he didn't expect his punch to shatter the man's ribs, or send him hurtling backwards into the brick wall behind him. 

And he certainly didn't expect the man's shattered, splintered rib bone to pierce right through one of his lungs. 

The man with the knife released Connie, stumbling backwards with a choked gasp as his partner fell to the floor.

Steven wasn't even thinking. His mind was still on the knife, and the man who was still close enough to hurt her.

_To kill her._

 "Connie, duck! "

And she did, dropping to the ground as soon as the word had left his mouth. In an instant, Steven's shield was on his arm and he spun, hurtling it like a disc. It flew faster than the eye could track. Its edge was sharp enough to cut through stone, to poof nearly any Gem that it hit.

But humans don't go poof.

Bright blood splattered across the alley walls. 

 

_I didn't want this to happen. I didn't mean for this._

 


End file.
